TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo and Lucas County will provide rental assistance to those struggling to pay rent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Toledo-Lucas County Emergency Rental Assistance Program will allocate $11.5 million to help income-eligible tenants in the city and county. The program will provide up to 12 months of assistance.
"COVID-19 has caused unprecedented job loss and income reduction and I am thrilled that the city and the county have partnered to again address the challenge of housing with this new, federally-funded program," Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said.
Funds may be used for current and future rent, past due rent, late fees, new renter fees, security deposits and utility payments. People receiving benefits will be encouraged to meet regularly with a financial coach.
Emergency rental payments will be made directly to the landlord.
Applications will be accepted online here. The portal will be open May 13-27 for landlords, and tenants can sign up starting May 28.
"This is a good example of government jurisdictions joining together to create a collaborative, coordinated framework to solve community-wide problems and make changes that improve the lives of the most vulnerable of Lucas County," Lucas County Commissioner Tina Wozniak said.
Eligibility requirements include:
- The resident must rent a residential unit in Toledo or Lucas County.
- The resident must have a valid and current lease signed by both landlord and tenant or other documentation supporting the existence of a rental relationship.
- The resident qualifies for unemployment or has experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced a financial hardship due to COVID-19.
- The resident demonstrates a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
- The resident has a maximum household income at or below 80 percent of the area median income, adjusted for household size. (To calculate what percent of the area
- median income a tenant’s income is, take the household’s income and divide it by the 100 percent area median income for a household of the same size.)
